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More Attempts to Hollywood-ize the Gospel Tim Smelser
Many of you have asked me about (and many more of you are aware of) two recent attempts by Hollywood to bring the life of Christ to the big screen. The Gospel of John has already been in theaters and is now available on video and The Passion of the Christ is scheduled for release on February 25th. One of the reasons that the later movie is creating such a stir is that it is an independently produced effort by Hollywood star Mel Gibson. I have not seen either movie. Reviews offer this description of The Gospel of John: It is a word for word recount of John’s gospel using the Good News American Bible translation as its script. It is rated “PG-13” for drama and crucifixion violence. The Passion of the Christ is described as “a vivid depiction of the last 12 hours of Jesus Christ’s life.” It is rated “R” for its graphic crucifixion violence. Gibson is quoted as saying, “It's a rendering that for me is as close as possible to what I perceive the truth to be.” Churches and clergy all across America are referring to Gibson’s movie as “the best outreach opportunity in 2000 years” and “one of the most powerful evangelistic tools of the last 100 years.” I realize we live in a day and age where TV shows and movies have a greater appeal than do books, but quotes like those above negate the power of God’s word to penetrate and divide soul and spirit, joints and marrow and judge the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). Perhaps these movies will motivate people to open their Bibles and understand the scriptures (Luke 24:45) and seek comfort and hope from the scriptures (Romans 15:4). Unfortunately I fear many will be emotionally moved by the vivid, disturbing scenes but will not be moved with godly sorrow to repent and obey. They will feel they have had a personal experience with Jesus while watching these films but they will not come to know Him according to His plan for our salvation (Mark 16:15-16). Friends, we should search the scriptures daily and diligently. We must read to better understand and appreciate the deeply personal, emotional message that God, in His word, is telling us, “Jesus died for you!” We must obey from the heart because we are moved by love for God and sorrow for our sins. Finally, we should never let Hollywood’s eyes be substituted for our eyes, the eyes of faith by which we walk.
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